Apple continues its emancipation by developing its own mobile modem for future iPhones. After working with Qualcomm to equip its current flagship stores, the Cupertino company is increasingly looking to produce 100% homemade devices. Whatever happens, the two companies remain under contract for another 5 years.
The A14 chip of the iPhone 12
The announcement was enough to make fall 4.4% the Qualcomm stock market price. Johny Srouji, senior vice president of hardware technologies at Apple, revealed to his teams that the firm is currently working its own modem for iPhone. “This year, we started the development of our first cellular modem, which will initiate other key transitions”, did he declare. “These kinds of long-term strategic investments are an essential part of the existence of our products and of the technological innovations that will serve us in the future”.
In 2019, Apple acquired the modem development department from Intel to $ 1 billion, in order to build a team responsible for creating its own model. The partnership between the two companies goes back several years, before the apple-based firm approached Qualcomm for the manufacture of the iphone 12 5G modem. Again, nothing has been done at random: for years, Apple has hired engineers from its new partner, also with the aim of developing its own modem.
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Apple remains under contract with Qualcomm
This decision is finally in line with the evolution of Apple in recent years. Already in 2010, Apple had developed its own A4 chip for the iPhone 4 and the first iPad. Following this, chips for Apple Watch and Apple TV have also emerged in the brand’s offices, along with special processors for photo sensors, artificial intelligence or even data collection. Unsurprisingly, Johny Srouji did not forget to mention the M1, which equips the latest MacBooks and which marked a turning point in the history of the company this year.
No launch date for this modem has been announced. Nevertheless, in its deal with Qualcomm, which cost Apple $ 4.5 billion, it is specified that the companies are tied for yet 5 years. Whether or not the next iPhones are equipped with Qualcomm modems, it will nevertheless receive financial benefits from their manufacturer. Nevertheless 11% of income from the company come from Apple, whose latest decision is therefore likely to be expensive. The finding is also similar for Intel, whose 7% of sales are carried out by the Cupertino company.
Source: Bloomberg
